Serron Noel was in Dallas at the NHL draft last week. He was sitting in the American Airlines Center on Friday night, waiting for his name to be called in the first round, where he was projected to be picked.

Less than a week later, Noel is getting his first taste of life with an NHL team at the Panthers development camp. Any anger he felt getting passed up in the draft has subsided, and Noel is trying to use the experience as motivation.

“To be honest, there was a little bit of frustration,” Noel said Wednesday. “Right after Friday night, when I didn’t go, I was like, ‘Okay, hopefully I get picked tomorrow, and I’m just gonna prove from there that the teams ahead made a mistake not picking me.’ ”

For a young, raw player like Noel, development camp can be intimidating, no matter how motivated you are. It’s similar to when he went to Oshawa two years ago to play with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League.

Luckily, Noel has a familiar face in Coral Springs to show him the ropes.

In Oshawa, defenseman Riley Stillman, helped get Noel assimilated to life away from home. Then Stillman was drafted by the Panthers in the fourth round of the 2016 draft.

This year, when Noel started slipping in the draft, Stillman was watching on TV. And when the Panthers picked Noel, Stillman says he was ecstatic. He called his parents, tweeted his congratulations to Noel and then called Noel to tell him congratulations again.

“You know what, it’s awesome,” Stilman said. “Him and I were actually close. I sort of took him under my wing his first year and sort of helped him through the draft process cuz it’s a bit of a stressful year, there’s a lot going on. So, you know what, I was super excited when I saw his name.

“It’s good to see him again. He’s come a long way. He’s a good hockey player, and he’s a good human being.”

For the Panthers, Noel’s fall from the first round helped define a widely-praised draft. His presence in the organization adds more front-line potential to an already deep core of forwards.

It could be a few years before Noel’s presence is felt on the NHL roster, but in general manager Dale Tallon’s mind, Noel’s future is bright.

“He’s gonna be a beast,” Tallon said. “He’s 6 foot 5, and he’s a skinny, raw-boned kid right now, but I like the fact that he can go up and down the wing quickly, protects the puck really well, has a good shot, has good speed. He’s just gonna get stronger and better, and I think it was a great draft for us getting him at 34.”

Even if Noel’s future is somewhat unclear in terms of his timeline, it’s a lot more clear than it was last Friday night.

He’s in an organization that values him, and he’s gotten to reunite with an old teammate and mentor.

As far as Noel is concerned, the draft, and the disappointment that came with it, is behind him.

“Sometimes it’s the way it goes,” Noel said. “You know, you expect to hear your name called on Friday night. But again, you know, Saturday morning you hear your name called and you forget about everything. You’re here with the Panthers in a great organization just really excited to be a part of the future.”